Sephora

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-20-2018

Bonjour BIC!

Maria from Brand Marketing at Sephora here! I’m a skincare aficionado who is lucky enough to partner with skincare brands as my job (!!!). I’ve been invited by Caudalie to take a trip of a lifetime to Bordeaux, France to visit “Les Sources de Caudalie” aka the vineyard where it all started to celebrate the launch of their Vinopure Collection! From lunch with the founder, Mathilde Thomas, a visit to Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa, wine tasting and a vineyard tour (excuse me while I faint) – I’ll be discovering all there is to know about Caudalie and the French way of life. Oh and eating some delicious food, I hope!

I will be spending a lot of time with Caudalie experts and would love to bring you all along on this trip of a lifetime! Please comment below with questions and suggestions re: what you want to see from behind the scenes!

xo,

Maria

EDIT - Day 1:

Hi Everyone! I’ve arrived in Bordeaux after a long day of travel and am so excited to start sharing everything with you! I seriously can’t believe how beautiful Les Sources de Caudalie is – it’s actually like a fairytale come to life!

View of the winery where they grow the grapes for the wine as well as to use in the Caudalie skincare products.This is the entrance to the hotel "Les Sources de Caudalie" built by Mathilde's sister Alice.

We settled into our hotel rooms and had a tour around the property today, here’s a picture of the garden where they grow a lot of the produce they serve in the restaurants! Talk about farm to table.

This is the garden behind the restaurant where they grow their produce.

Here’s a picture of the vineyard behind my room, which I can see from my window! I can’t wait for the vineyard tour where I’ll be learning more about grape harvesting and how they use the vines and grapes in the Caudalie skincare products!

Here's a photo of the vineyard in front of the hotel where they grow the grapes for the winery and the Caudalie skincare products.

Keep the suggestions and questions coming :). I will be back with updates! Can’t wait to ask Mathilde your questions at lunch tomorrow!

xo, Maria

EDIT - Day 2:

Hi Everyone, I'm back! Today was another incredible day in Bordeaux. It's so magical and quiet here and the weather has been perfect for walking around the vineyard enjoying the view and fresh air.

These are the white wine grape vines used in the Caudalie products! They use the seeds, skins, vines and sap.

We had lunch with Mathilde (and her husband and co-founder Bertrand stopped by!). They've been married for 28 years, have 3 kids together and currently live in Paris and are both so passionate about what they do. Can you imagine owning a business and working full time with the same person you're married to! Check out this photo from lunch today and then from 24 years ago!

Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas at our lunch!

Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas cofounders of Caudalie in 1994

I asked her your questions and answered them below in the comments! I'll continue to circle back and answer as I learn more :).

After lunch we went to the Vinotherapie Spa where I had a Signature Massage and Vinopure Facial. I actually fell asleep on the table it was so relaxing! They used the new vinopure toner, serum and moisturizer as part of the facial treatment and my skin felt amazing afterwards - while my body felt like pudding.

Here's me at the spa pool in my robe! - I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed!

This is the new vinopure collection used during my facial, which includes natural salicylic acid from wintergreen to target breakouts and oily skin - the fragrance is from 100% essential oils and smells incredible.

I'll tune in tomorrow after the vineyard tour and tell you more about what ingredients are used from the vineyard for the winery and skincare! Keep the questions coming!

xo, Maria

EDIT: DAY 3

On my last and final day and Bordeaux and I was so sad to leave this paradise! We took a tour of the vineyard at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte (which is just across the road from the hotel Les Sources de Caudalie) to learn more about the wine and skincare making process and enjoy wine tasting.

This is where Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte processes the grapes after harvest. All the grapes used in the Caudalie skincare are grown on Mathilde’s parents family vineyard Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux, France. They use both the white and red grapes for wine and the seed/skin "waste" from the white grapes for the skincare only.

They use all of the seeds and skins from the white grapes after the wine pressing process - something similar to a big French Press haha (which gently extracts the juice for white wine) because after this process these are still loaded with the good for your skin antioxidants and polyphenols. For the red wine all the grapes are left in a vat for 8 weeks so all the antioxidants, polyphenols etc. go into the wine juice, which is why red wine is healthier for you. Bertand Thomas (Mathilde's husband and co-founder) said at lunch "A glass of white wine a day, will keep the doctor away" haha.

The vat where they process the red grapes for their red wine! These grapes sit in this vat for 8 weeks.Picture of me in front of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte - those fields in the front are the white grapes used for Caudalie skincare!

This was definitely a trip I will never forget, and I’m so happy I got to share it with you all! If you have any burning questions, please feel free to keep them coming!

Au Revoir! Maria

Here is a pic of the wine barrel being built. They need to use fresh wood to make sure the wine flavor isn't altered unexpectedly and have to match up boards perfectly like a puzzle to get a snug barrel.

Here is the wine cellar where they age the wine barrels!

Here is the personal wine cellar of the vineyards owners (Mathilde's parents).

Wine tasting!

Red wine grapes!

flamingolegs · ‎10-01-2018

This is wonderful information. I know they harvest by hand (only low quality wines are machine harvested). I didn't know what type of press they use (basket by your description) and what percentage they were under vine per varietal. It is interesting as I would have thought they were growing more Semillon based on their location in Graves.

I love that they are using the must (that's the skins and seeds left over from the wine making process) bio-dynamically in the vineyard.

Most interesting is that they only use the white fruit in their skincare line as resveratrol is found in far greater concentrations in red grapes. Did you learn that all grape juice is clear, and it's the skin contact with the juice from red grapes that give the wine it's color?

Thank you so much for this information and I'm glad you had such an amazing trip!!

curlychiquita · ‎09-21-2018

This is so exciting! Have fun! @SephoraSkinTeam

MariaLis · ‎09-21-2018

Wow! That's a dream job!!!

Good luck to you and we're waiting for the pics😉😊

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-21-2018

@MariaLis thank you! 🙂

jozkid · ‎09-21-2018

@SephoraSkinTeam I have no questions other than do you need an assistant? Lol! What a fabulous job and fabulous opportunity. Enjoy!

ps. Tell Mathilde I love her products!

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-21-2018

@jozkid lol if only! 😄 I'll definitely pass along the love to Mathilde!

sprocketta · ‎09-21-2018

@SephoraSkinTeam Maria, this sounds amazing! I hope it's the trip of a lifetime for you. I can't wait to read about it and see pictures.

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-21-2018

@sprocketta @sprocketta thank you! Yes, I'm so excited to share!

alexasteph · ‎09-21-2018

Sounds like the type of work travel I'd actually enjoy! Have a fantastic time, can't wait to hear about all you learn! I hope skincare isn't the only reason you're visiting the vineyard 😉

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-21-2018

@alexasteph haha yes, I'm definitely not complaining about this work travel! 🙂 Let me know if there's something in particular you're curious about and I'll ask Mathilde!

Kim888 · ‎09-21-2018

have fun @SephoraSkinTeam can't wait to hear about it!!!

SephoraSkinTeam · ‎09-21-2018

@Kim888 thx! ❤️

MissPuff · ‎09-20-2018

Congrats @SephoraSkinTeam and Maria! Best. Job. Ever.

I love Caudalie, this sounds like such an amazing trip! Wine and skincare, honestly, what else does a girl need? Can't wait for your pictures and recap!